Hoey disqualified at Kiawah Island

Michael Hoey fired a second-round 70 at the USPGA Championship in vain

One of the best rounds of Michael Hoey's career counted for nothing on Friday night when he was disqualified from golf's final major of the year.

The Northern Irishman's second-round 70 at the USPGA Championship was only one off the low round of the day, and an eight-stroke improvement on his opening score. However, after signing his card he later brought an incident to the attention of officials.

Hoey, having embedded his ball deeply in a sandy area on the ninth hole, brushed away sand to identify it, but failed to replace the sand on his ball. It would have been a two-stroke penalty if his card had not been signed, but because it had the punishment was disqualification.